Conditions – 42-Degress on a downcast day. Perfect for a 11:00 am kickoff.
Patterns – Ashland Blazer’s gameplan was to run the ball and control the clock, while keepng the ball away from the explosive Elizabethtown Offense. After scoring an early touchdown, the Tomcats held Elizabethtown on downs at the Ashland nine-yardline and ate up 8:19 on another drive that began at the end of the first quarter and ended midway through the second. Although it ended on a fumble, the Tomcats defense again held them on downs, this time when the Panthers gambled and failed on a fourth-and-one at their own 28. Keontae Pittman’s touchdown run put Ashland Blazer on top, 14-0.
The Heroes – Both Pittman and Hunter Gilliam gained 253 and 115-yards rushing thanks to a great performance by the Tomcats offensive line. Pittman averaged 7.9 a carry and Gillum 12.8 on his nine and neither was easy to bring down, while showing exceptional speed in the open field.
Turnovers – All season, Elizabethtown had lived on cashing in on opponents turnovers and making them pay. There was only one when Caleb Tackett was hit and fumbled to Ryder Gregory, but the Panthers were unable to convert the bobble into points.
The Kicking Game- Both teams punted only twice. Clay Games averaged 27-yards to two kicks while Calyx Holmes averaged 35.0 on his.
Third Downs- A key stat, because while neither team was very effective (Ashland was 3-of-9, while Etown was 2-of-11), both teams lived and died on fourth downs. The Tomcats were 2-of-3 and the Panthers went 2-of-6 (Two failures stopped scoring drives in the Red Zone and one set up a Ashland Blazer score).
Ball Control – Although Ashland Blazer controlled the clock in time of possession (29:02 to 18:56), their five scoring drives took up 2:42, 2:59, 4:55, 1:36 and 00:11. Of the Tomcats 59 offensive snaps, only four were passes and the ability to keep the clock running help keep the dangerous Panther offense off the field.
Big Play- Trailing 21-0, Elizabethtown went 65-yards to their first touchdown when Clay Games, who completed 5-of-7 passes and took the ball himself over the goaline to make it 21-7. After both teams exchanged punts, Ashland Blazer got a big 37-yard run by Pittman to set up Gillum’s scoring run to push the lead back to 21-points in the fourth quarter.
The Clutch – Although the Tomcats running game gets plenty of attention, Ashland Blazer’s Defense had only allowed one team coming into the championship game to score double figures on them. The Tomcats limited the Panthers running game to under 100-yards and held Games to under 50% completions (18-of-37).
